SDCC does have a tendency to pop out some surprising announcements, but this one really did come out of nowhere… Some might say from a galaxy far far away…
Dave Filoni, the man behind the various Star Wars animated series, dropped the bombshell that ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ would return for a new season – the first since it’s cancellation in 2013! The 12 all-new episodes will come to Disney’s (as yet unnamed) direct-to-consumer streaming service.
Created by George Lucas, the show first aired in 2008 and became an entry point into Star Wars for an entire generation, following fan-favourites like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padmé Amidala, while introducing major new characters like Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex. Its stories were complex, its heroes and villains were perfectly imperfect, and its look was captivatingly beautiful. It became a multi-Emmy winner and is now regarded as essential Star Wars.
Unfortunately, the story was never wrapped up properly, due to the cancellation, and ended after five broadcast seasons, just as Ahsoka left the Jedi Order. A few post-Season Five episodes were later released as “The Lost Missions,” but the story wasn’t over.
“I’m happy for the opportunity to define these things and the end of this part of the Clone War,” commented Filoni. “It also makes me reflect on all the people that I got to work with over the years. It reinforces the things I learned from George. It reminds me of the important elements that go into making Star Wars. So, it’s nice on several levels, and I think for the crew that’s still here that worked on Clone Wars, they feel that, as well.”
The as-yet-untitled Disney Streaming Service will launch “late 2019”, in the USA… It’ll then be rolled out worldwide at a later date, so don’t expect to see ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ revival until at least then.
